The Urban Planners' Union (SPO) yesterday claimed that the only aim of many urban renewal projects in Ankara is to line certain people's pockets, not benefit the public.
The claim comes amid public complaints about the disruptive and seemingly haphazard road work along Ataturk Bulvari and adjacent traffic flow changes. SPO Ankara branch head Zafer Sahin said unplanned and unnecessary city renewal projects in recent years have served to boost land values. Arguing that most recent projects in Ankara were not done out of necessity, Sahin said there are currently 24 urban renewal projects in Ankara. "Seventy percent of those projects are unnecessary," added Sahin. Sahin also argued that the cost of the Ankara Greater Municipality‘s unplanned projects is being paid for by the people of Ankara. "In the last 10 years we have filed more than 40 lawsuits against the municipality. They make minor changes to the projects so the cases are closed. The Ankara Greater Municipality has been responsible for unplanned projects. A recent example of this is the Gokkusagi project," said Sahin, adding the union will file a complaint against this project too. The union head also claimed that as the result of these projects, some people had reaped $25-30 billion over the last 15 years. Electrical Engineers‘ Union head Ramazan Pektas charged further that through municipal projects, the city‘s culture and history is being destroyed. "The capital city should be reconsidered through urban planning. In this process, the opinions of unions should be taken into consideration," said Pektas.
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